Hundreds of tax issues on ballots this year

Updated 32m ago
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

Voter anger about the size of government will be tested directly Nov. 2 in a series of sweeping statewide ballot measures that would dramatically slash taxes or, in a few cases, raise them.

Nearly 100 statewide ballot measures on taxing and spending will dominate the list of ballot initiatives next month, reports the National Taxpayers Union, which advocates lower taxes. More than 450 local tax issues will be considered in 33 states, too.

Social issues will be nearly absent from the ballot in this time of economic turmoil. For the first time in a decade, gay marriage won't be voted on. Only one abortion measure, in Colorado, will be decided.

The fate of the tax issues "will be a significant signal in the direction voters want to go," says Pete Sepp, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, a non-partisan group that works for lower taxes and smaller government. "Unlike elected officeholders, ballot measures don't change their mind."

Measures to watch:

•Washington. In the most important effort to raise taxes, voters will decide whether to impose the state's first-ever income tax, starting at 5% on individual income above $200,000.

•Colorado. Three measures would slash property taxes $2.1 billion a year, prohibit the state from borrowing and cut fees on cars and telecommunications.

•Massachusetts. A proposal to cut the sales tax to 3% from 6.25% would reduce state revenue $2.5 billion annually.

Carla Howell, chairwoman of the Alliance to Roll Back Taxes, hopes the Massachusetts vote will start a national movement to cut sales taxes, just as California's Proposition 13, which cut property taxes and limited the rate of increase, started a nationwide property tax revolt in 1978. She says the tax cut would create jobs and force a 5% cut in total state spending.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, says the proposed tax cut is so large that it would result in "huge layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and could lower the state's bond rating.

Poll results on tax measures have been mixed and fast-changing, giving no clear sense of what voters might do.

California is typical of voter conflict. The trendsetting state has seven budget measures that would either raise fees or lower them, make it easier to spend or harder, plus a proposal to generate $1.4 billion by legalizing and taxing marijuana.

In Washington state, in addition to a proposed income tax, voters will consider repealing a tax on soda, candy and bottled water, plus a proposal to make it harder for the Legislature to impose any tax increase in the future.

At the local level, most ballot issues seek to raise taxes, often targeting a specific purpose, such as police and fire protection, rather than government spending in general.

A handful of ballot issues in California and Illinois try to reduce the cost of government employee pensions.

Proposals for new spending are few. Voters will decide on the fewest number of bond issues — to finance schools, convention centers and other projects — since 1994, reports The Bond Buyer, which tracks government finance.

"The initiative process reflects the ebb and flow of progressive ideas versus right-wing approaches," says Justine Sarver, executive director of the liberal Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. "People are grappling with the economic situation we're in."

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